Vertigo Review – A Unique Mix of Half-Life and Portal

The VR gaming industry is perfect for indie developers looking to make a lasting impact over the next few years. The developers of Vertigo have certainly shown the world the indie game industry is in a good place right now. It is evident this game is a bit rough around the edges, but other than that, it makes for a rather memorable experience overall. The game is available for the HTC Vive for the price of $14.99.

Vertigo is a Solid Indie VR Game

We have to commend the developers of Vertigo for taking a rather bold approach to this game. More specifically, it also looks and feels as if you are playing a Half-Life-esque game in virtual reality. Valve may still one day create such a game exactly, but for now, it seems highly unlikely. Until that day comes around, owners of the HTC Vive should check out Vertigo, as it is a very good game with some similar functionality. Despite these obvious correlations, Vertigo is a very original game as well. An interesting and potent combination.

To put this into perspective, the main objective of Vertigo is to investigate some strange alien activity. Not too long after, you are in an underground facility where you need to escape from. To do so, you need to clear different floors of the building through puzzles, defeating enemies, and learning the layout of the structure. Your weapons include a stun baton and a laser pistol. A dual-weapon approach is one of the things we hope to see more of in the VR gaming department over the next few years.

There’s another object that piques our interest. Players receive a teleportation device to create portals between locations. It can also slow down time, which is pretty amazing. Vertigo has taken some inspiration from Half-Life and Portal in this regard, yet it feels like a brand new experience at the same time. There are quite large environments which are easy to navigate, In fact, they almost seem out of place in a VR game, given the fact so many projects struggle with proper locomotion around vast maps. Vertigo, on the other hand, does the job quite well, although it still feels slow at times.

While there is a lot to like about Vertigo, it is also clearly an indie game. Checkpoints to auto-save are far between, which results in replaying a lot of content. Additionally, some of the sections are a bit confusing, but not overly frustrating. Everything else in the game is done quite well and more than warrants the price tag. It is good to see games of this magnitude come to VR, even if they still need a fair amount of work to be considered “must-have” games.

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REVIEW OVERVIEW

Gameplay

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Price

SUMMARY

For the price fo $14.99, HTC Vive owners who like Half-Life and Portal will immediately take a liking to Vertigo. It's a great game despite some rough elements. Overall, well worth checking out.